Larger indoor remodel projects took a hit as well, but weren't impacted as greatly as replacement projects as they rely more on labor costs rather than material costs.

"With the increasing costs of building materials and labor, we urge remodelers to think like real estate professionals first,” says Clayton DeKorne, editor-in-chief of Remodeling magazine. "When you adjust your focus to think like a broker first, you can dull clients’ No. 1 pain point—cost—with a discussion of the amount that can be recouped."

Nationally, here are the five projects with the greatest ROI in the report's mid-range cost category:

Manufactured Stone Veneer (94.9% ROI)

Average Cost: $8,907

Average Resale Value: $8,449

Minor Kitchen Remodel (80.5% ROI)

Average Cost: $22,507

Average Resale Value: $18,123

Deck Addition (Wood) (75.6% ROI)

Average Cost: $13,333

Average Resale Value: $10,083

Siding Replacement (75.6% ROI)

Average Cost: $16,036

Average Resale Value: $12,119

Entry Door Replacement (Steel) (74.9% ROI)

Average Cost: $1,826

Average Resale Value: $1,368

Nationally, Five projects with the greatest ROI in the report's upscale cost category are:

Garage Door Replacement (97.5% ROI)

Average Cost: $3,611

Average Resale Value: $3,520

Window Replacement (Vinyl) (73.4% ROI)

Average Cost: $16,802

Average Resale Value: $12,332

Grand Entrance (Fiberglass) (71.9% ROI)

Average Cost: $8,994

Average Resale Value: $6,469

Window Replacement (Wood) (70.8% ROI)

Average Cost: $20,526

Average Resale Value: $14,530

Bathroom Remodel (60.2% ROI)

Average Cost: $64,743

Average Resale Value: $38,952

Nationally—and on the other end of the spectrum—here are the five projects with the lowest ROI in the mid-range cost category:

Backyard Patio (55.2% ROI)

Average Cost: $56,906

Average Resale Value: $31,430

Master Suite Addition (59.4% ROI)

Average Cost: $130,986

Average Resale Value: $77,785

Bathroom Addition (60.6% ROI)

Average Cost: $47,427

Average Resale Value: $28,726

Roofing Replacement (Metal) (60.9% ROI)

Average Cost: $38,600

Average Resale Value: $23,526

Major Kitchen Remodel (62.1% ROI)

Average Cost: $66,196

Average Resale Value: $41,133

Nationally, Five projects with the lowest ROI in the upscale cost category are:

Master Suite Addition (50.4% ROI)

Average Cost: $271,470

Average Resale Value: $136,820

Bathroom Addition (58.1% ROI)

Average Cost: $87,704

Average Resale Value: $51,000

Major Kitchen Remodel (59.7% ROI)

Average Cost: $131,510

Average Resale Value: $78,524

Bathroom Remodel (60.2% ROI)

Average Cost: $64,743

Average Resale Value: $38,952

Window Replacement (Wood) (70.8% ROI)

Average Cost: $20,526

Average Resale Value: $14,530

The 2019 Cost vs. Value Report surveyed more than 3,200 real estate professionals about returns for 22 popular renovation projects in 136 different U.S. housing markets—up from 100 markets last year.View the full report, including project descriptions and city-level data, here.

The effect of student debt on the economy has been debated in recent years, as the total has soared to $1.5 trillion, surpassing Americans’ credit-card and car-loan bills. Congress and various White House administrations have pointed to federal student loans as a key way for Americans to pay for college and boost their career earnings. Critics have said the debt is damaging the economic prospects of a generation of Americans.

The Fed research published Wednesday didn’t offer a verdict on those assertions. But it showed that student debt is linked to key life decisions for some—including whether to buy a home and where to live.

Homeownership among people ages 24 to 32 fell 9 percentage points, to 36% from 45%, between 2005 and 2014, the Fed said. While many factors affected the homeowner rate, the Fed said 2 percentage points, or about a fifth, of the decline was tied directly to student debt. That translated into 400,000 borrowers who could have owned a home by 2014 but didn’t because of student loans.

The Fed researchers pointed to at least two effects. First, many borrowers fell behind on their student loans and damaged their credit, hurting their ability to qualify for mortgages. Second, many others have good credit but are unable or unwilling to save for a down payment on a home because they funnel a chunk of their disposable incomes toward student debt.…

A separate Fed paper Wednesday showed Americans with student debt are leaving rural areas in droves. Half of all student-loan borrowers in rural areas moved to urban areas within six years of taking on their debt, according to the study, which used a sampling of data from a credit-rating firm and Social Security numbers to track the borrowers.

Research on the effect of student debt on homeownership has been mixed. Some economists have found that even with the burden of debt, the wage boost from getting a college degree still makes it easier for many borrowers to buy homes.

“Basically the only way to get your foot in the housing door is to have a degree, even if it comes with debt,” said Ralph McLaughlin, deputy chief economist atCoreLogicInc.

College graduates are far more likely to be employed and earn more than workers with only a high-school diploma. The typical American between ages 22 and 27 with a bachelor’s degree earned $42,000 in 2017, according to the New York Federal Reserve. The typical worker with just a high-school diploma earned $28,000.

Skylar Olsen, director of economic research and outreach at Zillow, said student loans are combining with high rents and rising home prices to make it difficult for younger households to save for down payments. “It’s a one-two punch,” she said.

Over the past couple of years, lenders have been making a larger share of loans to borrowers who spend more than 45% of their monthly pretax income on their mortgage payment and other debt, including student loans. The mortgage industry is experimenting with various initiatives to address concerns that student loans make it difficult for millennials to purchase their first homes.

The new Fed paper studied borrowers during a period—2005 to 2014—when delinquencies on student loans soared. Since then, many borrowers have enrolled in plans that reduce their monthly bills by setting payments as a share of their incomes. These income-driven repayment plans have been linked to a decline in delinquencies. The Fed research doesn’t address whether this development has diminished the effects of student debt on homeownership, which has picked up among young Americans in the past year.